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Showing posts from September, 2017

A Phone that Probably Won’t Have Updates

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The smartphone market has always been a tough battle, not for the faint-hearted. Microsoft has never been the strongest in that battle, unfortunately – with the Microsoft Kin and not to mention the partnership with Nokia. Microsoft has fallen on some hard luck with the smartphone battle and failed various times to make a dent in the market, overly dominated by Android and iOS – more importantly, Samsung and Apple. An interesting and unique perspective of – what would a Windows phone have been like if Microsoft made one that ran its wildly popular Windows 95 operating system? – was recently asked, and answered by UI/UX designer Henrique Perticarati. In order to complement the operating system, Perticarati gave the smartphone a familiar beige plastic, identical to those of the 80’s. The WinPhone 95 has a chunky and awkward brick aesthetic which is evidently the antithesis to today’s rectangular slab of metal in smartphones today. The WinPhone 95 humorously gives way to a small trackba

A Phone that Probably Won’t Have Updates

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The smartphone market has always been a tough battle, not for the faint-hearted. Microsoft has never been the strongest in that battle, unfortunately – with the Microsoft Kin and not to mention the partnership with Nokia. Microsoft has fallen on some hard luck with the smartphone battle and failed various times to make a dent in the market, overly dominated by Android and iOS – more importantly, Samsung and Apple. An interesting and unique perspective of – what would a Windows phone have been like if Microsoft made one that ran its wildly popular Windows 95 operating system? – was recently asked, and answered by UI/UX designer Henrique Perticarati. In order to complement the operating system, Perticarati gave the smartphone a familiar beige plastic, identical to those of the 80’s. The WinPhone 95 has a chunky and awkward brick aesthetic which is evidently the antithesis to today’s rectangular slab of metal in smartphones today. The WinPhone 95 humorously gives way to a small trackba

Identify & Analyze Web Site Tech Stacks With rappalyzer

Apply for the Earth Institute Postdoc at Columbia and work with us!

The Earth Institute at Columbia brings in several postdocs each year—it’s a two-year gig—and some of them have been statisticians (recently, Kenny Shirley, Leontine Alkema, Shira Mitchell, and Milad Kharratzadeh). We’re particularly interested in statisticians who have research interests in development and public health. It’s fine—not just fine, but ideal—if you are interested in statistical methods also. The EI postdoc can be a place to do interesting work and begin a research career. Details here. If you’re a statistician who’s interested in this fellowship, feel free to contact me—you have to apply to the Earth Institute directly (see link above), but I’m happy to give you advice about whether your goals fit into our program. It’s important to me, and to others in the EI, to have statisticians involved in our research. Deadline for applications is 31 Oct, so it’s time to prepare your application NOW! The post Apply for the Earth Institute Postdoc at Columbia and work with us! app

Apply for the Earth Institute Postdoc at Columbia and work with us!

The Earth Institute at Columbia brings in several postdocs each year—it’s a two-year gig—and some of them have been statisticians (recently, Kenny Shirley, Leontine Alkema, Shira Mitchell, and Milad Kharratzadeh). We’re particularly interested in statisticians who have research interests in development and public health. It’s fine—not just fine, but ideal—if you are interested in statistical methods also. The EI postdoc can be a place to do interesting work and begin a research career. Details here. If you’re a statistician who’s interested in this fellowship, feel free to contact me—you have to apply to the Earth Institute directly (see link above), but I’m happy to give you advice about whether your goals fit into our program. It’s important to me, and to others in the EI, to have statisticians involved in our research. Deadline for applications is 31 Oct, so it’s time to prepare your application NOW! The post Apply for the Earth Institute Postdoc at Columbia and work with us! app

A Pro Skateboarder's "Scandinavian With a Twist" Barcelona Apartment — House Tour

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Name: Björn Holmenäs Location: El Poble-sec — Barcelona, Spain Size: 506 square feet (plus a 430 square foot terrace) Years lived in: 6 years, owned Björn's apartment is located in the Barcelona neighborhood of El Poble-sec, a neighborhood with a history that can be traced back to ancient Rome. The streets in the neighborhood are small and narrow, yet filled with creativity and inspiration. So when Björn came across this apartment with a terrace overlooking the neighborhood and nearby mountains, he knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and snatched it up without even viewing it in person. READ MORE » Design http://ift.tt/2hDUvJZ October 01, 2017 at 12:30AM

Before & After: A Wood Feature Wall Warms Up a Seattle Home — Professional Project

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Project by: Sarah and Nick Karakaian of Nestrs LLC Location: Seattle, Washington Sarah's sister found herself with a lovely, slightly imperfect home in Seattle. She called in the pros, aka Sarah and Nick, to help give her house some simple sophistication. A lucky find in the form of a brick wall, a few smart paint choices and a mix of DIY and shopped furniture pieces helped to create a warm and modern home. READ MORE » Design http://ift.tt/2fZWunY October 01, 2017

How many musical scales are there?

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How many musical scales are there? That’s not a simple question. It depends on how you define “scale.” For this post, I’ll only consider scales starting on C. That is, I’ll only consider changing the intervals between notes, not changing the starting note. Also, I’ll only consider subsets of the common chromatic scale; this post won’t get into dividing the octave into more or less than 12 intervals. First of all we have the major scale — C D E F G A B C — and the “natural” minor scale: A B C D E F G A. The word “natural” suggests there are other minor scales. More on that later. Then we have the classical modes: Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. These have the same intervals as taking the notes of the C major scale and starting on D, E, F, G, A, and B respectively. For example, Dorian has the same intervals as D E F G A B C D. Since we said we’d start everything on C, the Dorian mode would be C D E♭ F G A B♭ C. The Aeloian mode is the same as the natural mi

How many musical scales are there?

Image
How many musical scales are there? That’s not a simple question. It depends on how you define “scale.” For this post, I’ll only consider scales starting on C. That is, I’ll only consider changing the intervals between notes, not changing the starting note. Also, I’ll only consider subsets of the common chromatic scale; this post won’t get into dividing the octave into more or less than 12 intervals. First of all we have the major scale — C D E F G A B C — and the “natural” minor scale: A B C D E F G A. The word “natural” suggests there are other minor scales. More on that later. Then we have the classical modes: Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. These have the same intervals as taking the notes of the C major scale and starting on D, E, F, G, A, and B respectively. For example, Dorian has the same intervals as D E F G A B C D. Since we said we’d start everything on C, the Dorian mode would be C D E♭ F G A B♭ C. The Aeloian mode is the same as the natural mi

Data.Table by Example – Part 3

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(This article was first published on R – Mathew Analytics , and kindly contributed to R-bloggers) For this final post, I will cover some advanced topics and discuss how to use data tables within user generated functions. Once again, let’s use the Chicago crime data. dat = fread("rows.csv") names(dat) <- gsub(" ", "_", names(dat)) dat[, c("value1", "value2", "value3") := sample(1:50, nrow(dat), replace=TRUE)] dat[1:3] Let’s start by subseting the data. The following code takes the first 50000 rows within the dat dataset, selects four columns, creates three new columns pertaining to the data, and then removes the original date column. The output was saved as to new variable and the user can see the first few columns of the new data table using brackets or head function. ddat = dat[1:50000, .(Date, value1, value2, value3)][, c("year", "month", "day") :=

tidytext 0.1.4

This Couple Built a Tiny A-Frame in Montana for Just $700

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Along with our love affair with everything mid-century right now, A-frame cabins have resurged in popularity — and one couple in Missoula figured out how to get the look for a lot less by building a tiny home in the iconic style. It's giving us cabin fever, in the best possible way. READ MORE » Design http://ift.tt/2xHi4YR September 30, 2017 at 11:00PM

Would You Rent Your Furniture? New Startups Are Betting On It

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Two new companies are betting on modern efficiency and our collective premium on the value of our time by breathing new life into an old decorating concept: renting, or renting to buy, our furniture. READ MORE » Design http://ift.tt/2xKnik6 September 30, 2017 at 10:30PM

You Can Visit Laura Palmer's House From Twin Peaks — If You Can Be Cool

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A starring turn on television, much like it does for actors, can also make a house famous — or infamous as the case may be. That was what happened to this picturesque Everett, Washington colonial home. The house took center stage on TV's cult hit Twin Peaks, during its original two-season run from 1990-1991, as the home of the fictional murdered teen Laura Palmer. Over two decades later, the home returned to stardom again this year on Showtime's reboot of the beloved series, "Twin Peaks: The Return." READ MORE » Design http://ift.tt/2xGDnJT September 30, 2017 at 09:30PM

Basic to Bougie: 10 Things Design-Obsessed Dog Lovers Need in Their Home

11 Online Sources Perfect for The Art Lover on a Budget

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I wish I had the kind of disposable income that allowed me to walk into my favorite galleries and buy the work that I love right off the walls, but let's get real, that's just not gonna happen anytime soon. So instead I will rely on the next best (read: affordable) thing: the Internet. Related Video : Here's a great way to display all of your art! READ MORE » Design http://ift.tt/WZJWhw September 30, 2017 at 08:30PM

A "Desert Minimalist" Adobe Home in Tuscon — House Tour

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Name: Krysta Jabczenski and Joel Leshefka Location: Barrio Libre — Tucson, AZ Years lived in: 3 years, owned Tucked away in the historic Barrio Libre neighborhood of Tucson is a little strip of lovingly restored adobes. The airy structures are full of desert charm, and they owe their new lives to a couple that split their time between arid Tucson and soggy Seattle. You may remember Krysta, Joel and their crisp and bright modern adobe , filled with pops of color, mid-century inspired furniture, and lofty ceilings. This is another one of their updated adobes, with this space garnering inspiration from the Georgia O'Keeffe's Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. READ MORE » Design http://ift.tt/2fZUPix September 30, 2017 at 08:00PM

Renovation Ideas to Steal from Updated Ranch House Exteriors

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In today's real estate market, affordable ranch homes are proving their potential . When they aren't dismissed, torn down, and then replaced by larger McMansion-style homes, they get snapped up by eager buyers happy for the large lots, large windows and friendly layouts. These exterior renovations show you don't have to compromise your style, and that there are so many ways to customize and modernize an 'outdated' home's appearance. READ MORE » Design http://ift.tt/2xGENnO September 29, 2017 at 10:00PM

Toxic pairs, re-identification, and information theory

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Database fields can combine in subtle ways. For example, nationality is not usually enough to identify anyone. Neither is religion. But the combination of nationality and religion can be surprisingly informative. Information content of nationality How much information is contained in nationality? That depends on exactly how you define nations versus territories etc., but for this blog post I’ll take this Wikipedia table for my raw data. You can calculate that nationality has entropy of 5.26 bits. That is, on average, nationality is slightly more informative than asking five independent yes/no questions. (See this post for how to calculate information content.) Entropy measures expected information content. Knowing that someone is from India (population 1.3 billion) carries only 2.50 bits of information. Knowing that someone is from Vatican City (population 800) carries 23.16 bits of information. One way to reduce the re-identification risk of PII (personally identifiable inform

Toxic pairs, re-identification, and information theory

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Database fields can combine in subtle ways. For example, nationality is not usually enough to identify anyone. Neither is religion. But the combination of nationality and religion can be surprisingly informative. Information content of nationality How much information is contained in nationality? That depends on exactly how you define nations versus territories etc., but for this blog post I’ll take this Wikipedia table for my raw data. You can calculate that nationality has entropy of 5.26 bits. That is, on average, nationality is slightly more informative than asking five independent yes/no questions. (See this post for how to calculate information content.) Entropy measures expected information content. Knowing that someone is from India (population 1.3 billion) carries only 2.50 bits of information. Knowing that someone is from Vatican City (population 800) carries 23.16 bits of information. One way to reduce the re-identification risk of PII (personally identifiable inform

This Asterisk-Shaped Shipping Container Home Is Heading for the Desert

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By now there's plenty of evidence that shipping containers can make for some absolutely beautiful residences , but in case you're not hip to how cool it can actually be to live inside of the bulky structures, have a look-see at this concept shipping container home in Joshua Tree, California and try not to marvel at the modern, sleek renderings. READ MORE » Design http://ift.tt/2xKEXIf September 30, 2017 at 07:45PM